Monday, December 29, 2008

Here is a list of what I think have been the best songs of this year. Let me know what you think. The amount that can fit on a CD. Let me know if you want a copy. Not in any particular order. Also the songs are the playlist that plays when you are on my blog so go and check them out (with a few exceptions, some songs I couldn't find to put onto the playlist so they are different songs by the artist or in the case of Beyonce or Kanye I am sure you all have heard that song before.)1. Human - By The Killers. Deep lyrics, awesome vocals, a great introduction to a new sound for the Killers. Great renovation of an awesome band.2. Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco. Again, a great renovation for a band. When I first listened to the album, I thought, "are you kidding me?" I was not impressed. On second listening to, I changed my mind, especially about this song. On third listening, I applaud their effort to be innovative.3. Better Off Alone - Marie Digby: Great new artist. Awesome voice, good lyrics. 4. Unhappy/Angels On the Moon - Thriving Ivory: Thanks Chantasic for reccomending this awesome band and taking me to their concert. They are amazing. Just as good live as they are on their album. I think they are gonna make it big.5. Chasing Pavements - Adele: Awesome mix of jazz/pop/soul sound with an amazing vibe to it. Haunting song. Really good.6. I'd Rather be with You - Joshua Radin: I spend a lot of time on itunes looking for new artists to listen to. This is one I found. This song is awesome. When/if I ever get married this is definately going on the wedding video.7. Live your Life - T.I. ft. Rihanna: I think it is the best rap song of the year. I really like it.8. Paper Planes - M.I.A.: I think this is an '08 song, but I am going to be too lazy to check. Awesome song. It was on Pineapple Express, but a friend at work had me listen to it a long time ago. It is a little weird but still awesome.9. Viva La Vida - Coldplay: I ate, drank, and slept this song. So amazingly good.10. Change is Hard - She and Him: This is kinda a timeless folk song by Zooey Deshanel's band. Great.11. Fall For You - Second Hand Serenade: This is just great. Listen up.12. Take a Bow - Rihanna: One of her best, shows that she is better than the average singer on the radio.13. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis: I know it is really poppy but it is just a really good song.14. Just Stand Up - A bunch of different artists.15. Drunken Lament - Ludo: Lesser known band that is awesome.16. Gives You Hell - All American Rejects: I really love this song. Especially right now in my life.17. Single Ladies - Beyonce: This partially gets on due to the Justin Timberlake/Beyonce skit on SNL, but it is a good song. Also, Beyonce is hot.18. Heatless - Kanye West: Different change of pace for Kanye but I like it.19. All Summer Long - Kid Rock: Good Summer song. 20. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz: The version with Joshua Radin. It is by far the better version.Now y'all tell me which songs I missed. I think it is a pretty good list, but not totally perfect. So let me know.

Friday, December 19, 2008

Warning this is kind of a sad, middle of the night, not going to make any sense but to a sleep deprived Brad post. Read at your own risk.I have had a horrible night. A bad day followed by a pretty horrible night. A big final followed by a bad day at work followed by a last minute project that kept me at work until 9:00 at night. From work I had to go over to Kinko's to have them laminate my project. Call me crazy but I really love walking in downtown Salt Lake, especially at night. Kinkos is two and a half blocks away from where I work. As I turned down a street I passed a homeless man throwing up on the side walk and I kept walking by. Then there was another homeless man huddling against the side of the building that Kinkos is in. After showing the idiots at Kinkos what exactly I needed to have them do, and after showing them how to do it better after they ruined the sample they did for me, I left and started walking back to work. The homeless man huddling next to the building Kinkos is was being questioned by a few of the Salt Lake Angels, and the man throwing up was laying on the ground. I looked at him and knew something was wrong. Then a fire truck pulled over and two firemen jumped out checked his pulse and his breathing and then started performing CPR on him. I stood frozen watching them for a moment, not knowing what to do. I had to walk away. There was nothing I could do, the firemen obviously know CPR better than I do. And I had to leave because I couldn't wait to see if he made it or not. It was just too real for me. Death is something that I cannot comprehend. And I needed to at least be able to believe that he made it. If I would have stayed then maybe he wouldn't have, and the guilt that I am already feeling is keeping me up til 3am and there is no sleep in sight. When I first saw him he was puking his guts out into a bush. I didn't stop, I was in a hurry, I was mad that I was working that late, tired due to studying for my final living on three hours of sleep and just wanted to get my project finished. And I just walked on by. Thirty minutes later he was receiving CPR. And I really hate myself right now. I left my phone at my apartment so I didn't have anyone to talk to about it, and after finishing a few things up back at the office I went to my parking garage and found that it was locked up, and my pass was in my car. So I sat on the steps outside my parking garage contemplating on what had happened, what I am doing in my life, and how the world can just literally suck sometimes. I did that for twenty minutes until some random stranger was going into the parking garage and after reassuring that I park there too I talked him into letting me in. I went back to my apartment and for the first time in a really long time felt completely alone. So instead of tackling my life head on I call my mom and dad. Gosh I am such a wimp sometimes. But I needed to talk to someone, and the list of people I can talk to about this is getting increadibly smaller as I get older. It was a good thing I did, they always have a way of making me feel like I am still a decent person. Still not satisfied I turned to music. I couldn't find a song that really went with what I was feeling so I started watching one of my favorite movies. Here is a clip from one of my favorite movies of all time, Almost Famous. It kind of fits exactly how I am feelig right now. Premise for the clip is Patrick Fugit plays the young kid sitting next to Kate Hudson. He is a young reporter for Rolling Stone who follows the band Stillwater on tour writing an article about them. Kate Hudson is Penny Lane, the ultimate groupie, who inspires lead guitarist of Stillwater played by Billy Crudup to be a better musician. The band just got into a huge argument and is on the verge of breaking up and this is how they all get back together again. Through the song Tiny Dancer.

It somehow made me feel better. I don't really get how, but it did. Elton John had some good stuff back in the day. I highly reccommend the movie it is rated R so if that is not your thing look for it on cable to get the edited version. I guess posting this is my last effort in trying to talk to someone about a horrible day without having to actually talk to someone and burden them. Anyways I just want to forget about this bad day and fall asleep and start a brand new better day. Thats the way it works right?Anyways, "Hold me closer tiny dancer. Count the headlights on the highway. Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today...." Good song.

3 Favorite Christmas songs:Have Yourself a Merry Little ChristmasO Holy NightAll I want for Christmas is You ha ha jk (kind of) but I am going to say The Christmas Song by Johnny Mathis

3 Favorite Christmas traditions:Opening up pajamas on Christmas EveChristmas Eve monopoly game with my uncle KennyMy dad telling us his made up Christmas story that he has told us ever since we were little called "Tinkle Tinkle." The funniest story.

Snow or the tropicsSnow on Christmas day and tropics the rest of the time

Candy Canes?Gross-I can't believe you people like them

Favorite Christmas gift you've ever gotten:My fly fishing pole. I hardly ever use it anymore but it is probably my favorite gift. One day I will use it more often if someone will go fly fishing with me.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

So my life has been consumed by school and work for the last month so I haven't really done too many interesting things that are blog worthy. I wrote 28 pages worth of papers, helped put together 6,000 Christmas cards (yeah that involved three saturdays, and many late nights at work,) helped conduct a survey for Salt Lake County, dealt with some friend drama, set up the parentals Christmas lights, and got another cold. So as you can tell the lack of fun has made it so I haven't posted in a bit. So this is what you are going to get. You are going to get another celebrity crush post. I will refer you back to my top ten list I made a while ago.(http://b-radcummings.blogspot.com/2008/04/tuesdays-top-ten.html) Most of those will stay the same, although Rachel McAdams moves up on the list as well as LC, and Lauryn Hill and Halle Berry move down on the list towards the back of the top ten.. Anyways that is not the reason for this post. All of those on the previous post were obvious everyone has a crush on them crushes, except probably Lauryn Hill-I may be a loner on that one. Well this crush list is suprise crushes. The crush you don't expect.Zoey DeschanelI don't know what it is about her that I love, but I do. She is quarky, and goofy, and really cute. She just needs to pick better movies to be in. I know The Happening seemed like a good idea on paper and who wouldn't want to be in a movie with Mark Wahlburg, but I really don't think she read the script. Big points for Zoey, no points for The Happening.

Lo, from the Hills.Now this may strike people as a little odd. Don't get me wrong, LC is on my top ten list, probably at number seven right now, but there is something about Lo, that makes her my second favorite on the show. I also think she is better looking than Audrina and Whitney. I will probably get a few weird looks on that one.

Maggie GyllenhaalYou probably best recognize her from the Dark Night or Stranger than Fiction, my crush on her developed a while ago while I was on a date with this girl before my mission. I went and saw Mona Lisa Smile on that date. Her choice, definately not mine, maybe it was just because I really like this girl but I fell in love with everything that night. That girl, Maggie Gyllenhaal, the popcorn we were eating, the freezing cold night, the gum I stepped in, I fell in love with it all. Okay I probably didn't fall in love with any of those things, but there was just something special about that night. Anyways Maggie Gyllenhaal has carried on.

Nicole Richie.Okay so I guess I have a thing for chicks who will junk punch you and then leave you. While the rest of the world was mackin over Paris Hilton, I fell for Nicole. And who wouldn't want to be Lionel's son in law?

The Biggest surprise...............Lindsay Lohan. Sick I know.So I get that she is a lesbian now. I get that she does drugs. I get that she is basically an overall bad person. But there is just something about her that makes me say if I had no morals at all then ....maybe.